Neighborhood Journey – Herbie Nichols

This song is a great example of the subtly advanced melodic and harmonic sense that define the Herbie Nichols sound. Our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project includes a swinging, bebop-style solo piano version by living legend Bertha Hope.

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Recording: Herbie Nichols - The Fourth Six
Recorded on: December 11, 2019
Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1064)
Concert Key: C
Vocal Range: , to
Style: Swing (medium)

Piano - Bertha Hope

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Herbie Nichols - Neighborhood Journey (Bertha Hope)

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Subtly advanced in its harmonic and melodic detail, Neighborhood Journey really tells a story in Herbie Nichols’ unique vocabulary. As the title somehow implies, the A section of this song travels around and back again—the melody rises over a circle of 5ths in the changes, coming back down with a circle of 4ths. Though this song begins in A minor, the ultimate key center is C major. The form is AABCD, with the first A extended to 11 measures; the other sections are eight measures each. The B section melody rises dramatically over alternating A and B♭ chords, while C resolves the tension with a bouncy swing feel. There is a five-measure intro related to the C section of the head.

In her solo piano recording, Bertha Hope plays the intro rubato and goes into a laid-back medium tempo for the head. She plays the melody in a bouncy, bebop-flavored swing style, emphasizing many of its rhythmic quirks such as the first phrase’s landing on beat 2 of the fourth measure.

Our Herbie Nichols Centennial Project features pianists in every decade of their career, from their teens up to 80s; the latter is represented by living legend Bertha Hope.

At the Herbie Nichols Piano Summit, Frank Kimbrough clip] demonstrated this song in a similar style to Bertha’s recording, though slightly faster. He plays the intro in time instead of rubato.

Herbie Nichols made a recording of Neighborhood Journey that has since been lost; as with Blip, it comes from his November 10, 1957 Bethlehem session for the “Love, Gloom, Cash, Love” album. The date attached to his manuscript is a month earlier: October 9, 1957.

Check out the rest of "The Fourth Six."

Herbie Nichols

January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963

Don Sickler "On January 3, 2019, we were at the Van Gelder Recording Studio celebrating Herbie's 100th birthday with his family and pianists Frank Kimbrough and Glenn Zaleski. Both Frank and Glenn each recorded a previously unrecorded Herbie Nichols composition, on the same piano Herbie played for his Blue Note sessions. These were the initial recordings that started my new project, the Herbie Nichols Centennial Project, which debuts January 3, 2024. Read more...

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Neighborhood Journey – Herbie Nichols

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